Focus

Pay attention to the tension in your body. Let go of it and any expectations to do anything other than God’s will today. Prepare yourself to hear God’s word.

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Read

Revelation 21:1-7 (NRSV)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.

And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

 

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Reflect

“The Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end,” reminds us that God is bigger than we think. We humans think in terms of time and space. We had a beginning, but we will not have an end. It is hard to understand that God was before this world. Our viewpoint is from a particular place in time. We know what we have experienced, what we have learned, what we remember.

Our memories are imperfect, and even in the present we only know what we observe, what we experience and that is filtered by who we are. Another may stand beside us and see something very different. This is true in the physical and emotional realm, but it is true in the spiritual realm as well. The Holy Spirit moves within us speaking to us in a language that cannot be heard in the normal way. We hear the voice of God through the filter of our own experiences, our memories, our understanding of the the scripture, and the body of Christ to which we belong.

 

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Pray

Dear Lord,
Help us learn to recognize your voice and respond to your leading even as we realize that others are also listening and responding. Remind us how vast is your knowledge, your power and most of all your love.

 

Go with God!